


Familiar Habits

by Wallwalker



Category: Final Fantasy XIII
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Hair Braiding, Sadness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-12
Updated: 2013-07-12
Packaged: 2017-12-19 05:49:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/880165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wallwalker/pseuds/Wallwalker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fang hadn't seen any harm in old habits, at least for a little while. She'd thought that it would be soothing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Familiar Habits

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lassarina Aoibhell (Lassarina)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lassarina/gifts).



> Prompt: _Fang/Vanille. Any rating is fine. I do not want consent issues of any kind or graphic gore. Something from their life before the events of the game, maybe a sweet stolen moment or something like that. I love Fang's way of defending Vanille, and the contrasts between their attitudes, so something focusing on that would be fabulous._  
>  Sweet stolen moment ahoy. :)

The morning sun was warm over the gardens in Oerba, and Vanille was braiding Fang's hair, or at least trying to. It was difficult to braid hair that was a mass of tangles from a long night of sleeping and several hours of training, so most of their time had been spent with Fang trying her best to hold her head still in Vanille's lap, and Vanille clucking as she did what she could.

Vanille's fingers moved softly and sweetly through her hair, pulling strands of it to the side, working as gently as she could manage through the worst of the tangles. Vanille loved to braid Fang's hair; Fang appreciated Vanille's soft touch, and thought that she did a far better job than anyone else who'd ever tried. But she didn't enjoy the rest of the work involved, the snarls left by the wind as she hunted that Vanille always clucked over. Still, considering how much harder the two of them had had to work ever since being Branded, Fang had thought that indulging in a few old habits together might be soothing. 

It did, at least, seem to be working for Vanille. She could hear her lovely girl sigh to herself as she pulled at one of the worst of the knots, her attention utterly absorbed by her task. But despite all of Vanille's attempts at gentleness, Fang still couldn't help but wince. "Here now, darling, easy," she protested as Vanille tugged. "Don't just _yank_ at it, you have to use a little _finesse_ -"

Vanille chuckled. "Oh, Fang," she said, and gave her hair another careful tug. "You're the fiercest fighter in Oerba, but me pulling your hair is too much for you?"

"I'm only askin' you to be careful!" Fang was smiling, though. She couldn't help it. It really did sound entirely too ridiculous to be believed. Still, that was all part of the habit - Fang being a sissy if only for a moment, and Vanille scolding her for it. They'd started it when they were little girls, long before anything else had begun between them. Fang didn't expect the two of them to change now. "Keep in mind that you won't have much left to braid if you yank it all out, will ya?"

"I couldn't do that if I tried - you have more hair than anyone else I've ever seen! You'll be fine." Vanille reached down, tapped Fang lightly on the nose. "You could probably stand to have it cut, if you want the truth."

"Oh, no," Fang protested. "We have had this conversation before, and I am _not_ cutting my hair for anybody!"

"Well, if the best fighter in all of Gran Pulse ever falls because some monster decided to grab at her hair and give it a few sharp tugs -" and here Vanille punctuated her words with a few more attempts at detangling, which didn't hurt but certainly got her point across - "I'll be sure to tell everyone about just how Oerba Yun Fang was brought low by her vanity!"

That statement would've probably sounded ridiculous to anyone else, but Fang heard the change in Vanille's voice immediately, and she knew that it wasn't the joke that Vanille had probably meant it to be. "Oh, my sweet girl," Fang said, pulling away. Vanille let go of her hair as soon as she sat up and turned around to look in her sweet, too-bright eyes. "You don't need to worry about that. Not even in jest."

Vanille's smile faded a bit. It was easier to pretend, Fang knew, while they were doing the things they'd always done. Vanille fixing Fang's hair, Fang teaching Vanille to hunt... those things were all familiar. Being chosen was new and terrifying. "I know," Vanille said, but Fang saw her gaze drift down to the glyph on her arm, and that spoke far louder than what she actually said.

Fang reached out to cup Vanille's chin. "You're still scared," she said. "Even after all of that training."

Vanille nodded, her eyes closed. "I know I shouldn't be," she started. "But -"

"Hush, now," Fang said. "If you weren't afraid, _I'd_ be scared that you aren't the girl I knew after all."

"But why does being _myself_ mean that I have to be _scared_? I hate being scared!" Vanille's free hand reached down to cup her hip, where her own brand was hidden. Fang could understand. Her own brand was starting to burn, as if it knew that she was thinking about it. "I want to be strong, not afraid! I mean, the Fal'Cie chose me too, I can't be weak anymore! "

"The Fal'Cie chose you because you're the most determined girl I know," Fang answered, smiling gently. "Not everything's about fighting. And you're no coward, even so."

Vanille swallowed hard, and nodded her head. They both knew it was true. Vanille had gone through the same rites of passage as any other youth in the village. She still wore the first pelt that she'd ever harvested, after all. "Well," she said, "I just wonder sometimes, you know? If I'm not meant to fight as hard as you can fight, what was I chosen for?"

"You want to know what I really think?" Fang pulled her closer, and pecked her on the forehead before she kept going. "I think maybe you're around to keep an eye on me. You always said I was trouble, right?"

"Hey!" Vanille giggled in spite of herself, though, and then leaned in and kissed Fang back, on the cheek. "Well, if that's going to get you to _admit_ that you're trouble, then fine, I suppose I did!"

"Hey, now, I didn't mean that!" Fang protested, laughing. But Vanille was already leaning in to drown her protests with another kiss, and the sun was warm and steady on her brown skin, and strands of Vanille's pink pigtails were already hanging over her face as Vanille pushed her back. They were going to make an utter mess of her hair, Fang thought as she reached up to pull Vanille close. 

Ah, well. For moments like that, the tugging was almost worth it.


End file.
